Blind Sonny UPDATE - SUPER< COOL< WONDERFUL<FANTASTICO GOOD NEWS!!!!
I've been monitoring Sonny via IR camera and she's only been up a few times since building her nest and hibernating in early May - which was VERY early. During one of her 'wake ups' she actually deigned to eat some biscuits that I had placed in a box close to her nest. This is the first food she has accepted from me since she was released into her garden last March. Stubborn much???
When she went into hibernation Sonny weighed 856gm which isn't huge and I've been VERY anxious about her well being through all of this very wet, soggy weather. I have also been loathe to disturb her to check on her because historically she has become very confused and disoriented when I've disturbed a nest she has built and has often then rejected that nest.
We've had heavy frosts and it's been very cold for the last few nights so I figured that today would be a good day to check Sonny as she was more likely to stay fast asleep and less likely to get upset and antsy at being disturbed. Holding my breath, I VERY carefully got her up and weighed her.
WOOT WOOT WOOT!
She is 708gms. Not huge but also not anywhere near as light as I was dreading she would be. After giving her a dose of Advocate I carefully popped her back to bed and she stayed put. PHEW.
When Sonny made her 'nest' - which consisted of some peastraw she had dragged from another part of the garden to cover the burrow she had dug under a comfrey bush, I boasted her efforts by covering the nest with a plywood shelter and back stuffing it with fresh hay which I topped up periodically as the hay settled. I wasn't sure what state the nest would be in down under all of the hay that I had added but discovered today that it is completely dry and that there was no mould either, which I was rather worried there might be.
With spring approaching I now feel confident that Sonny will survive her first 'wild' hibernation and I can breath easy ... for now!
I've been monitoring Sonny via IR camera and she's only been up a few times since building her nest and hibernating in early May - which was VERY early. During one of her 'wake ups' she actually deigned to eat some biscuits that I had placed in a box close to her nest. This is the first food she has accepted from me since she was released into her garden last March. Stubborn much???
When she went into hibernation Sonny weighed 856gm which isn't huge and I've been VERY anxious about her well being through all of this very wet, soggy weather. I have also been loathe to disturb her to check on her because historically she has become very confused and disoriented when I've disturbed a nest she has built and has often then rejected that nest.
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| Sonny; fast asleep in her nest |
WOOT WOOT WOOT!
She is 708gms. Not huge but also not anywhere near as light as I was dreading she would be. After giving her a dose of Advocate I carefully popped her back to bed and she stayed put. PHEW.
 |
| Sonny's lovely dry, cosy bed |
When Sonny made her 'nest' - which consisted of some peastraw she had dragged from another part of the garden to cover the burrow she had dug under a comfrey bush, I boasted her efforts by covering the nest with a plywood shelter and back stuffing it with fresh hay which I topped up periodically as the hay settled. I wasn't sure what state the nest would be in down under all of the hay that I had added but discovered today that it is completely dry and that there was no mould either, which I was rather worried there might be.
With spring approaching I now feel confident that Sonny will survive her first 'wild' hibernation and I can breath easy ... for now!
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